The Pittsburgh Pirates are 30-58 on the season which has them in last place in the N.L. Central, 18 games behind the Reds. It all hasn’t been bad for the Pirates this season and here’s a closer look at the surprises and disappointments of the first half:

Pleasant Surprises: Rookie Neil Walker has changed position from 3B to 2B and he’s playing well. Walker has played in 36 games for the Pirates so far this year and he is 39 of 142 (.275 avg, .741 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 3 homers, 12 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. 27-year old righty reliever Evan Meek made the N.L. All-Star team after posting a outstanding first half. Meek has pitched in 40 games (0 starts) for the Pirates this year and he is 4-3 with 1 save, a 1.11 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP. 32-year old lefty reliever Javier Lopez has been solid for the Bucs this season. He has pitched in 41 games (0 starts) this year and he is 1-1 with a 2.78 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP.

Disappointments: The Pirates were depending on Akinori Iwamura to bat near the top of the lineup while starting at 2B in 2010. He is currently in AAA trying to work his way back to the majors. Iwamura has played in 54 games for the Pirates this year and he is 30 of 165 (.182 avg, .558 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 2 homers, 9 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. 26-year old lefty swinging Jeff Clement was supposed to be the starting 1B for the Pirates this year but he’s playing with Iwamura in AAA right now. Clement played in 45 games for the Pirates this year and he was 24 of 127 (.189 avg, .560 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 5 homers and 9 RBIs. 26-year old righty starting pitcher Charlie Morton was in the rotation at the start of the year but has been putrid! Morton has started 10 games for the Pirates this year and he is 1-9 with a 9.35 ERA and a 1.89 WHIP. Morton has given up 66 hits (12 homers) in only 43 1/3 innings this season! 27-year old righty Daniel McCutchen has also been pathetic for the Pirates this year. McCutchen has pitched in 7 games (6 starts) for the Pirates this year and he is 1-4 with a 8.58 ERA and a 1.69 WHIP. He has given up 36 hits (including an amazing 10 homers) in only 28 1/3 innings.

This is not a misprint. The Pirates are in 2nd place in the N.L. Central with a 7-5 record which has them only 1 game behind the Cardinals despite being outscored 75-53 this year. The Pirates are having big time problems in the pitching staff right now as they have a team ERA of 6.34 with a 1.53 WHIP. But they are still winning games and that is the most important stat. The Pirates host the Brewers for three games this week before traveling to Houston for three games.

The Pirates are tied for second place in the N.L. Central with the Brewers and Reds with a 3-3 record despite being outscored 45-30. Obviously the Pirates need to start pitching better or they are going to lose a ton of games this season. The Pirates’ pitching staff has a 7.47 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP which is putrid. The Pirates are hoping to get good pitching against the Giants in San Fran and then at home against the Reds this coming up weekend.

The Pirates are 2-2 so far this season despite being outscored 27-18. The pitching hasn’t been too good so far for the Pirates which comes as a little bit of a surprise as they rebuilt the bullpen over the winter. Still, it’s nice to see the Pirates hustling and never giving up despite the fact that they should be overmatched talent wise on most nights.

Ian Snell started off this season like a ball of fire but he has had a rough time since the All-Star Break.  In the 2nd half of the season, Snell has started 13 games and he is 2-7 with a 5.40 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP.  In 78.1 innings, Snell has allowed 94 hits, walked 29 batters and whiffed 73.  Overall, Snell’s numbers look solid.  He has started 30 games this season for the Pirates and he is 9-12 with a 3.92 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP.  In 195 innings he has allowed 198 hits, walked 62 batters and whiffed 166.  The Pirates are now 66-85 on the season which is good for 5th place in the N.L. Central, 12.5 games behind the Cubs and Brewers and 1 game ahead of the Astros.